


It's All Greek to Me

by silhouettts



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: A - Freeform, Alcohol, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Age Changes, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fraternity, Alternative Universe - Sorority, Armitage Hux is a Jerk, Background Relationships, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Ben Solo is Not Nice, Ben Solo is a Mess, Ben Solo thinks in caligraphy, Chaotic Bisexual Poe Dameron, Child Abandonment, Eventual Poe Dameron/Finn, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, F/M, Finn is a music encyclopedia, Fraternities & Sororities, Greek Life, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Marijuana, Minor Rey/Kaydel, Other, Partying, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rey is a stubborn but clueless sorority girl, Rey rolls joints perfectly, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Discovery, Self-Worth Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:34:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23953915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silhouettts/pseuds/silhouettts
Summary: Becoming President of Alpha Zeta Phi Sorority comes with numerous responsibilities: earning the trust of your sisters, burdening the hiccups, mess-ups, and scandals that come from late night bad decisions, and making sure the chapter maintains Chapter of Excellence status – Rey Niima thinks she can handle it. She thinks, until a certain Delta Sigma Kappa Fraternity President makes her question what family really is about.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey & Ben Solo, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	1. Sliding Headfirst to Home on a Bad Bet

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Thanks for clicking on the story. Please mind the tags as you start this story and as this story progresses. I would like to take this moment to emphasize while Greek Life is a interesting and fun part of college life, every experience an individual may have is different and no two stories you may hear or see are reflective or accurate of the entire experience of Greek Life as a whole. These sororities/fraternities are totally make-believe and any similarities with real-life sororities/fraternities are purely coincidental. If there's a topic that may be sensitive in the chapter, I will place a warning at the beginning of the chapter - if the tagged topics above are any sensitivity to you, I suggest to please skip this story. Thank you so much for taking the time out to read this, love ya!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “And that’s how I’m now president of Alpha Zeta Phi,” Rey rolled the joint between two of her fingers, watching the smoke make interesting patterns against a band’s ultraviolet poster on his wall.
> 
> “And now you’re over at 2AM on a school night, smoking with the philanthropy chair,” Finn ribbed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *takes deep breath* okay, here we go! I'm excited to start this journey with you all! Enjoy!
> 
> Come say hi on [twitter](https://twitter.com/silhouettts)!

**THE NIGHT WAS ALREADY** stretching into a beautiful nightmare. The Kenobi Room on campus had already been interrupted by not once, but twice, by the poor janitor staff who desperately wanted to wrap their night and go home. For Christ’s sake, it was nearing 1 AM on Chandrila University’s campus already. Fifty women dressed in business casual sat in a semi-circle in silence, minus a few rustling chairs and cleared throats. The only distinct sound was the rustling of paper at the head table before a woman dressed in wine red with bright lavender hair, counting silently. The temperature felt fifty degrees warmer during these next few moments, or at least it felt so – for history was possibly being made.

It was an interesting couple of weeks of small conversations.

As soon as Rey Niima announced her interest in becoming the president of Alpha Zeta Phi International Sorority, it seemed as if the sisters that charmed her with wide grins, singsongs and stories of sisterhood unhinged their jaws and bared their fangs, ready to swallow her body whole. Shaking from the whiplash, she leaned onto the one of the best gifts that Alpha Zeta Phi gave her, her big sister Paige Tico. The word ‘family’ became disjointed in its frame in Rey’s brain.

> _“Oh, little sunshine,” she whispered as they snacked on Rey’s favorite comfort food – fries from the Sundowner with too much barbecue sauce – “When they were sophomores, they were worried about finding their littles and receiving gifts. You’re a little rebel. I’ll always adore about that you.”_
> 
> _Rey swallowed. “What if they don’t vote for me?” Her tongue found the salt that lingered in the corner of her mouth. “What if they write to nationals and pass some new bylaws that new members or sophomores can’t run for executive office-"_
> 
> _“Rey, cut the conspiracy shit,” Paige pointed an accusatory fry at her chest. “I pledged with Gwen. Right now, we need a shake-up. Your big-big met Ms. Organa at convention—”_
> 
> _Rey furrowed her eyebrows together, trying to think back to her weeks of new member education and memorizing all about Leia Organa. Her pledge books were collecting dust under her bed currently._
> 
> _“--her message was all about hope was this summer. In order to bring hope, you must embody it. So, do it, I bet on you! Now, are you going to finish these fries—”_

It was easy for Paige Tico, who was inching closer to her graduating and in terms of Greek Life, a downright elder, to say. Everyone in Rey’s pledge class assumed that Paige was going to let her family tree die since Paige waited so long to take a little sister. Whispers spread about Paige’s academic program, her grades in economics, her disinterest in the latest pledge class, filled walls within The Nest and during weeks of New Member Education. Instead, Rey was the last to know that Paige wanted her as a little sister, and therefore, Rey was the grand little of the current president of Alpha Zeta Phi, Amilyn Holdo.

> _“It was all part of the surprise, little!” Paige had squealed at reveal, “I didn’t want you to ruin it!”_

Rey moved forward, knowing she knew had big shoes to fill from ruin.

Amilyn Holdo, statuesque art therapy major and somehow-still-patient senior was heavily respected by all sisters within Alpha Zeta Phi – even by those who regularly attended disciplinary hearings. She was fair and diplomatic and loved. Rey, who once thought of Holdo of being a cold individual, now regularly received memes about philosophy and check-in texts about eating and making sure she got home after a mixer with a fraternity on weekends.

> _“Grand little, while I consider you running rather unconventional,” Holdo had said one sunny afternoon inside The Nest, “you have my full support."_
> 
> _“Really?” Rey shifted away from her homework. Calculus could wait. Hearing her grand-big utter these words inside the sorority house walls were drawing lines in sand._
> 
> _“Yes,” Holdo smiled warmly, “Sometimes the unconventional is needed in times when the conventional is rather poisonous.” Holdo shrugged. “I’ll take the bet.”_

Of course, there was one person that believed in her, no questions asked.

Rey’s eyes crossed to a familiar pair of eyes across the Kenobi Room, who was swinging her feet in her flats impatiently all evening. While Paige Tico had become her big sister, Paige’s biological younger sister, Rose Tico, was her very best friend, through and through. Fate somehow brought them to rush together, and they became thick as thieves as they became pledges and then sisters of Alpha Zeta Phi. They quickly bonded over the summer staying with the Ticos (not like Rey had anything to return home to), and now her roommate, Rey was glad to have Rose in her corner that would back her up, no matter what. The Tico Family was another family of Rey’s. As for Alpha Zeta Phi…

Rey heard Amilyn Holdo exhale as she pushed back her chair. Her heart immediately jumped into her throat. It appeared the air got thicker the instance Holdo rose, her lavender glinting in the artificial spotlight. The tiny bits of paper were tossed into a waiting trash can.

“Sisters,” Holdo’s voice sounded cautious. “I appreciate your patience while Kaydel and I ran through your votes. We counted these three times to ensure no mistake.”

Acid rose in the back of Rey’s throat. Her plans, blossomed late at night with Rose while pledging, seemed to dance further and further away from her fingertips. A piece of carpet caught her eye as she tried to listen over her pounding heart. Rey told herself to not get attached to the idea of wanting this position over the last few weeks – but utterly, utterly failed.

“I am pleased to announce the next president of Alpha Zeta Phi,” Holdo sounded out each letter with her lips.

The room seemed to collectively inhale.

“Congratulations to my grand little, Rey Niima,” Holdo’s tone seemed to relax as the news left her like a deflated balloon.

A _train braking_ would have been softer than what took place next inside the meeting room.

“YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME, AMILYN??” a scream erupted across the room, as a chair flipped backwards. “SCAVENGER WON?”

Rey recognized that roar from anywhere. Gwen Phasma, the long-legged white-blond who once had the job of leading Rey’s pledge class through the sacred rituals to become a sister of Alpha Zeta Phi – took three strides to Holdo’s desk. Her pledge name being uttered from Phasma’s lips stung in that sweet way that second degree burns do.

“I counted them three times, Gwen, do you trust my inability to count-?”

“GIVE ME THE TRASH CAN-"

Rey heard another half-yell from the semi-circle of half-awake sisters: “It was Phasma’s turn, what THE HELL GUYS-?!”

“Give Rey a chance – didn’t she find us another space to raise money when Sigma were a bunch of bitches? We love that!”

_We love that._

\----

A conversion of butane to flame with the aid of oxygen. Again. Again. It burned her thumb, but again, trembling fingers were not exactly the kindest or easiest when handling a lighter. Finally, the joint ignited and Rey inhaled eagerly, shutting her eyes against the memories of an hour ago as she fell against a familiar bed.

Across the room on a computer that whirled through the visible color spectrum, her other best friend and lab partner furiously clicking on a computer screen that began to play on a Ska band that she never heard of.

“And that’s how I’m now president of Alpha Zeta Phi,” Rey rolled the joint between two of her fingers, watching the smoke make interesting patterns against a band’s ultraviolet poster on his wall.

“And now you’re over at 2AM on a school night, smoking with the philanthropy chair,” Finn ribbed. "Why didn't you bring Rose?"

It didn’t penetrate Rey’s pensive cloud of unease. "Voting," she hummed into the joint, taking another drag and passed the joint to Finn. "I didn’t know she hated me so much."

“How do you know she hates you?” Finn retorted, no names necessary.

“She still called me Scavenger again after Holdo banned the use of pledge class names,” Rey stared at the wall. After the hurdles she jumped through, being called Scavenger by a woman who she was supposed to call a sister wasn’t the worst, but it was up there. “Holdo knows what I had to do to survive in high school.”

“Jeez Peanut. Here” Finn exhaled while he passed back the joint. “Sorority girls are terrible. It’s a tale as old as time. We were done with voting in an hour,” Finn motioned to pass the joint again. “None of the dramatized soap opera bullshit—”

Rey half-listened while staring at Finn’s concert memorabilia on the wall illuminated under blacklight. Finn Stormson was her best friend since they down together at their first Chemistry lab together. He was also the first one that urged her to go Greek after doing so himself just a semester before her. She distinctly remembers asking to join his fraternity, Delta Sigma Kappa, since there was no drama, but he laughed and said that his fraternity and her sorority do a lot of things together, so it’s “cool”. Like a typical guy, he didn’t get it.

“Wait – wait, Finn, who is your new president?” Rey suddenly asked, trying to remember what Finn was saying last.

“You mean Supreme Leader,” Finn corrected her.

“Your executive titles are so ridiculous,” Rey huffed and motioned for the joint. “Who is your new—” Rey’s voice dropped a few octaves “--'Supreme Leader’?”

Finn sorted loudly, then shifted in his seat. “Oh, uh. I don’t know if you know him. He’s ah – an interesting guy.”

Rey wrapped herself in one of Finn’s spare blankets. “Interesting in what way?”

Finn shrugged.

“So, no more Poe?”

“No. More. Poe.” Finn enunciated.

They both erupted into a manic symphony of laughter, their heightened state only adding to the hilarity.

“Oh, but as much as he was chaos,” Rey wheezed through the comedown, “he was good!”

“Don’t worry, he’s still the Social Chair,” Finn finished the last of the joint, “Hux will never sleep again,”

“Who is Hux--?”

“Our new Executive Leader, second in command. As I said, no sleep.” Finn smirked like Cheshire the Cat.

Rey exhaled as she leaned back into Finn’s bed of pillows and throw blankets and closed her eyes. Troublemaking smiles reminded her that Kaydel Connix had stepped down from her position of being Holdo’s right hand to Social Chair. It definitely was more fitting for Alpha Zeta’s social butterfly, who always seemed have every phone number and social media under her thumb in a moment’s notice… but Rey left the room and the rest of her executive board a mystery since she left the room after her confirmation. She really, really should check her phone –-

Someone banged loudly on Finn’s door, but the knock was telling.

“Oh, speak of the devil,” Finn muttered and turned his music down even lower. Rey barely opened her eyes as she heard him unbolt his door.

“Smoke my lettuce and I shall show!” a musical tone sang-whispered before shutting the door quietly once more. “Who’s the cocoon?”

“The new president of Alpha Zeta Phi,” Finn spread his arms as though on a giveaway show and Rey was the big-ticket item, “Miss Rey Niima!”

Poe Dameron would be the only man in the Delta Sigma Kappa house at 2AM dressed to go somewhere: black jeans with matching sweater and black scarf with Delta Sigma Kappa letters tucked carefully around his neck, to only turn to Rey and go, “no shit?”

“Yeah, total shit,” Rey sighed. She rubbed around her temple for the migraine that she baited to come.

Poe tossed his perfectly tussled curls and mused, “Damn, Gwenny must be really pissed that some sophomore is now president.”

“I’m not ‘some sophomore’,” Rey spat.

Poe chuckled. “Right. You reminded me that when you punched me—”

“You were being an ass!” Rey yelled, memory flashing back to a toga mixer.

Poe’s eyes glimmered mischievously.

“Hey! People are sleeping here,” Finn interjected, whacking Poe lightly on the arm.

Rey ran her fingers on the throw blanket, grounding herself. Poe seemed to shuffle on his feet, briefly phased, until, “Well, you have President’s Academy this weekend…”

Rey groaned. “Sounds thrilling.”

“It’s rather boring, but you learn who you can talk and drink with when your sorority hates you... Maz feeds you, though.”

Rey chewed the inside of her cheek. Maz, the eccentric housing director with glasses that magnify her eyes about three times their actual size – was also the faculty advisor of Alpha Zeta Phi. Rey found a soft spot for her, when she went after initiated in her red sorority jacket and went _“Oooh! One of my dear children!”_ when handing in her housing forms. _It couldn’t be that bad, right?_

“Good thing Rey likes food,” Finn spoke up, snapping Rey into focus.

Rey glanced up, suddenly remembering the holes in her memory. “Poe, can you take me there? I have no idea where the room is—”

Poe stopped in his tracks back to Finn’s door. “The Armistice Room?” He rolled his eyes. “Such a clueless newbie. Fine. You owe me –”

“ _Can’t you just be a friend_?”

“---a mixer. Tell Kay to text me!” and in a flash, Poe was gone with a click of a lock.

Rey rounded to Finn. “How did he know--?”

Finn shrugged. “Poe has ears all over this fucking campus.”

Rey laughed the second time this evening. Her thoughts, however, were elsewhere. Her mouth could not help but to betray her, voice no higher than a whisper: “Do you think I will be a nightmare?”

Finn looked flabbergasted. “What makes you say that?”

“I’m… unconventional…” Rey mulled over Holdo’s word for her. Her mind became a Rolodex of faces who seemed ready to burn her at the stake or seemed to hold a similar opinion due to being most convenient at the time.

“Look, Peanut,” Finn was going through the motions of shutting down his muti-colored mission control, “You already identified as being Phasma’s worst nightmare, what’s a few more? You can come over here, we’ll laugh about it. It’ll come out in the wash.”

Rey rubbed her eyes. She held the word ‘family’ closer to her chest as it became gauzier in her grasp. “Perhaps,” she whispered.

“Now, why don’t you get some sleep, Miss President, and we’ll talk tomorrow, yeah?”

“Fine,” Rey adjusted herself to lay back onto his pillows without much effort. Falling asleep somewhere that she took many a catnap between classes wouldn’t be hard most nights but knew sleep would be hard to find tonight. “You wouldn’t hate me, right?"

Finn snorted. “No Rey, you’re getting paranoid. Who could hate you?"

Rey shut her eyes, his words like melatonin and honey to her scattered brain. Scattered mind, scattered heart – perhaps this was another way to place her roots and grow. Her mind drifted as she thought about the anatomy of leaves in warm sunshine, feeling the furthest thing from herself as a sorority girl.


	2. What a Catch, General, What a Catch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What the hell was that?” Rose threw towards Finn, mirroring his mood.
> 
> “Nothing,” Finn answered, collecting his utensils. “Look, I have to go. Thanks for the swipe, Rey.” He moved towards Rose’s used napkins, collecting them along his plate. Rey didn’t miss the slight tremble of anger in his hand. 
> 
> “Why are you mourning?” Rey’s tone was careful. “Did a brother die?”
> 
> A dark smirk spread across Finn’s face. “Yes, Rey. A long time ago. And for that, we are forever mourning. It’s why Delta Sig’s color went to black like a goddamn Bob Dylan song.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wew, this chapter was pieced over three weeks and was probably rewritten about eight times before I finally figured out the right tone. I didn't want to slip into the obvious right away - another voice had my ear that needed to be added into the story early.
> 
> A few definitions before we begin:
> 
> CUSpeak: is a social media application created by a student of Chandrila University, to be used by the students, faculty, and staff of CU. To get the gist of the app, think of if Yik Yak and Instagram had a baby. A person of the CU community can follow accounts and share images and comments with a screen name, or post anonymously. I'm sure you can see how _wonderful_ this invention is. 
> 
> ISC: Inter-Sorority Council. A representative from each sorority is elected to the Council to discuss concerns and plan collectively for broader sorority life activities. If there's a possible issue that arises from one sorority, ISC may discuss the broader implications and recommend judicial process to the Dean of Student Life and Wellness.
> 
> IFA: Inter-Fraternal Association; same as above, just with fraternities. 
> 
> ...I think that's all for now! :)
> 
> Thank you for everyone giving kudos and commenting on the first chapter - it means a lot, especially as someone writing after a very, very long hiatus.
> 
> I would like to give a thank you to my writing group chats on Twitter that welcome my serial reaction-ing butt to everything - they have kept me company during many a late night while trying to piece this together. They are the stars that light up the darkest nights.
> 
> Finally, a very, very, special shout out to two fellow Greeks who I was able to message at random in all caps about what organization they joined. Nothing but my deepest panhellenic love to you, [reylotros](https://twitter.com/reylotros) and a user I am currently keeping anon - you know who you are! <3 <3
> 
> Anyway, let us begin!
> 
>   
> The name of this chapter is a twist on "What a Catch, Donnie" by Fall Out Boy

**BENJAMIN OWEN ORGANA-SOLO** , Supreme Leader of Delta Sigma Kappa, prefers to run on a _very_ tight schedule and prefers no interruptions, thank you.

6 AM was reserved for rising from the bed, yelling at Alexa to kindly shut the _fuck_ up and chugging his sickly-sweet pre-work out mixtures and praying that he didn’t throw it back up in the sink. Coffee this early was for quitters. He’d spend extra time necessary prepping his feet before shoving them into too-tight running sneakers, before stretching in Northern Heights apartment lobby.

> _“Oh Benny, dear, they have a hole in the toe,”_ his mother would chide him. _“Wouldn’t a new pair be lovely?”_
> 
> _“No, it’s fine,”_ he’d brush her caring fingers away, fearful of them slipping through the worn leather.

The reply was automatic, a receipt of a reply printing from his tongue, worn from years of reprint. Thank you, come again later.

Ben turned the volume rocker, needing more of guitar solo crooning through his earbuds.

Always louder.

He quietly darted out into the rain, feeling the cool mist penetrate his clothes. Ben inhaled deeply, setting his pace.

6:30 AM was reserved for weight training and 3-mile run around the perfectly manicured lawns and marble buildings of Chandrila University. Running was one of the few moments that he was able to be nothing more than a whisper washed against the changing leaves and cement sidewalks. Often Holland Avenue – otherwise known affectionately or otherwise as ‘Greek Row’ was saved for the home stretch. Each morning, he’d slow down each house to see if there was any hint of debauchery that occurred from the night before. More often than not, he’d catch a stray beer can lingering on Delta Sigma Kappa’s front steps that he’d have to kick down the front porch. _Animals_.

One morning, a Sigma Pi woman screamed _“SOLO-CUP, COME FILL ME UP!”_ out of their blue sorority castle to Ben while he was cleaning up early.

He ditched the trash on the lawn that morning and had to hear the living occupants of The Base complain about it later.

Dirt can only be scrubbed off so well.

8:30 AM was reserved for showering, dressing, reviewing his schedule… and checking CUSpeak – the worst social media application to ever cross his mobile phone, the Supreme Leader thought in disgust. CUSpeak: the brainchild of a computer science major with too much time of their hands, was quickly becoming the most popular way to share whatever insignificant thought that dotted across the “woke” minds of this campus. Unfortunately, with its ability to post anonymously, it was a public affairs nightmare for Greek Life. More time was spent policing threads to ensure nothing secretive, raunchy, or downright troublesome wasn’t posted by any member by Ben’s new executive board the last few days above anything else. It was exhausting.

It was better than the alternative.

Ben’s skin began to crawl over the possibility of having to meet Peter Snoke, Dean of Student Life and Wellness and their fraternity faculty advisor, more than his weekly requested ‘check-ins’. As a brother of Delta Sigma Kappa himself, Snoke wanted to ensure that Ben had all the available resources available to lead the fraternity in a great, new direction.

_New directions._

His campaign for Supreme Leader had been built upon similar words – however Ben was sure that his ideas for a new direction was very, very different from Snoke. He pledged- what, four semesters ago? – and the experience was enough to scar him. Quite literally, in fact. Ben wasn’t alone in this experience, but in the minority for pushing for a radical change. It was a hill he had the privilege to climb – but it was a very steep hill.

9 AM to 7 PM was reserved for driving to campus, classes, studying, meetings, tutoring – the infinite number of little hooks that latched onto his skin and pulled him into fifty different directions. That was their time, and their time only. Unfortunately, as one moved up the chain of command, so did the number of hooks that wished to embed themselves in you, he learned. Ben found himself seeking reserved study rooms, or fishing for a particular set of keys he hated having in his possession.

> _“We’re proud of you for getting into your mom’s alma mater, kid,”_ _a rough hand patted his shoulder awkwardly – once, twice._
> 
> _“Have to keep the tradition going,” Ben mumbled. His form of ‘thanks’._
> 
> _“Don’t tell your mother I still have these, but knowing you’re doing that crazy med program, you’re going to need these more than me. They unlock a part of—”_

No.

He buried the thought into his chest, hoping the burning in his chest was just a need for oxygen.

Ben rounded the corner, nearing back to his apartment complex, his hood dripping from the absorbed rain. It had been an easy run, nothing too extreme to ensure he didn’t slip--

His music suddenly faded out and an upbeat staccato of _dings_ blared through his ears. Stomach dropping as the tone repeated, the small bit of clarity that Ben’s run had instilled was shattered. There is a short list of people that could break through his phone’s all-powerful ‘do not disturb’ setting.

_Great,_ Ben thought darkly.

He looked at the screen. ‘THE GENERAL’ scrawled against a photo of an intoxicated ginger’s face was flashing brightly back impatiently. Cursing silently, he slid his thumb across the screen to answer.

“What the—what the hell?” Ben heaved into the open, praying that his wireless headphones picked it up. He slowed down into a stroll. “I h-hope you are dying—”

“Have you seen CUSpeak?” A voice answers, tone crisp and alert.

“What?” Ben stopped at a crosswalk, watching a few cars speed through a yellow light. _Idiots_. “Hux, it’s not even nine yet —”

“Have you seen it?”

“No, you bastard, I was running—”

Hux sighed into the receiver, creating static in Ben’s head. His second in command was becoming more and more like an old woman reading gossip magazines than his goddamn _second in command_.

_We all are_ , a thought sliced through. Letting the urge of tossing his phone across the street rise and fall, Ben started: “This better be important or I swear—"

“Something… interesting occurred.”

“What?” Ben hoped that Hux grew a second head.

“Alpha Zeta Phi has completely shot itself into the blinding unknown, and kissed the stratosphere goodbye,” Hux sounded unbothered, but Ben knew every single atom that made up the annoying ginger’s body was downright _bothered_. He wouldn’t have called otherwise.

“Can you be a little more succinct?” Ben growled. He caught a confused glance of a fellow student hiding under her umbrella. He waved near his ear, where his wireless earbuds were hiding under a tuff of midnight hair, hoping it was enough an apology. Ben continued, “I don’t have time for your dramatic ass—”

“Alpha Zeta Phi has a new president.”

“Oh. Okay.” Ben was nearly back home now, thankful that soon, the sweet embrace of steel elevator doors could cut this conversation off. “Okay? So—” 

“Do you remember last year at our toga mixer? Flyboy got punched.”

“He probably deserved it.”

“The girl who punched him is now their president.”

Ben remained silent, trying to wrack his memory of such a Social Responsibility Chair’s nightmare. Surely, he would have remembered it, unless-

“Trooper made one heck of a case for that _stupid_ girl to not be brought before Snoke, and it was all corroborated with their social chair, a damn cover up. Remember?”

“I was—”

_The flash of ambulance lights –_

_His mind, sawed in half –_

_The hum of machines, the endless paper--_

_The tears he’d hear his mother try to silently cry in her study late at night –_

“—home,” Ben sputtered. He inhaled sharply, hoping to fill the crack that dared to split open. He masked it into a cough, smacking his chest with a closed fist. “Home. I wasn’t there.”

Hux hummed before continuing. “She’s also a sophomore, Ren.”

Ben paused in his tracks, just outside the lobby door. _So close_. “What?”

“Indeed,” Hux drawls.

Ben pinches his face. “How?”

“Apparently their bylaws do not prohibit underclassmen from running for executive board,” Ben hears Hux adjust his weight. “Gwen told me she had to settle for Vice President after losing. She’s pissed, as she should be.”

Ben rubbed his jaw, stubble grounding him. Although he didn’t dare to understand the politics of sororities, this was an interesting development, to say the least. The new president was one of two things: a true rarity among underclassmen and the sorority trusted her, or Alpha Zeta Phi truly was falling off the high tier it prided itself to be so much on after all these years, and this vote was a major sign. Could they fall so hard from _Holdo_? Ben had not interacted with lavender-haired President directly, but he heard plenty stories from Poe that demonstrated that she was an excellent leader who kept the organization’s nose clean. _Anyone_ following Holdo was at a disadvantage. Certainly, a sophomore, who was just beginning to get their feet wet in Greek Life, had less than average experience on how to maneuver around the labyrinth of campus and community.

What an interesting mess, indeed.

Hux seemed to hear his thoughts.

“I would like to discuss the possibility of submitting a No Confidence vote to both the IFA and ISC later today.”

Ben was in the lobby of his apartment complex now, listening to loud squeaks he made against the granite tile. His feet positively ached. Ben wouldn’t dare give Hux the pleasure of knowing, but this phone conversation was well warranted. Unease crept into his spine, a third initiated brother making its presence. “Training hasn’t even occurred yet.”

“Exactly,” Hux stated blankly.

A ripple of anger radiated through Ben. “IFA and ISC do not recognize any organization's president until they complete President’s Academy.”

“Perhaps in this special circumstance—”

“No.” Ben said, thick with annoyance. “Both boards would frown upon what you are suggesting. They would want unequivocal proof as to why the sophomore is unfit to be president before training. Do you have any?”

“No—”

“Then forget it,” Ben sighs. “I am sure her sisters will strip her of the position faster. Alpha Zeta has a bylaw for removing and replacing incompetent presidents faster than any organization on campus. Let the vultures get her if she fucks up.”

“Perhaps,” Hux concedes, before adding: “Your mother must be so proud of knowing how her stupid sorority works.”

Ben jabbed the elevator button a bit too harshly. “Kindly _shut the fuck up_ , General.”

“This campus is going to hell, Kylo,” Hux nearly sang. Ben listened to glass kiss another hard object in in his earbuds- Ben imagined Hux preparing himself tea. The stuck-up bastard that he was forever linked to, drank tea in the mornings. A ritual that paled in comparison to the ceremonies that they once silently participated in together.

“And so are you,” Ben spat into the phone, grateful to find the right period to hang up on the conversation.

Without a moment to spare, the elevator chimed open. After pressing his floor number (the topmost floor, of course), his eyes fell upon his distorted reflection in the metal door. A drowned, looming shadow looked back. Pain still radiated from his feet, aching to be released from too-small shoes. He was a captain lost at sea, tied a ship he was unsure was sinking or not.

After fighting his curiosity past the third floor, he pulled out his phone and let CUSpeak load up for the first time today.

Scrolling through, Ben skipped over a few posts before settling on the one that had Hux so riled up this morning:

**_Chandrila University Fraternity & Sorority Life  
_ ** _PILLAR OF LEADERSHIP goes to Alpha Zeta Phi International Sorority for voting Chandrila University Greek Life’s youngest president! Rey Niima of Jakku, Outer Posts, a sophomore Biological Sciences major and Skywalker Presidential Scholarship recipient, joined Alpha Zeta Phi just one year ago and has been a powerhouse since, representing her organization as their Inter-Sorority Council representative previously. Amilyn Holdo, outgoing president, remarks: “Rey embodies everything that Alpha Zeta Phi women strive towards – justice, kindness, and fidelity. I’m excited to see where she takes us”. And so are we! “Foundations for Flight – Alpha Zeta Phi”_

Under it, a girl – no, woman – was pictured.

The first thing he caught was her eyes, scrunched up tightly in the black-and-white photo, due to laughing without what seems to be a care in the world, teeth a wicked white. The light seemed to catch her high cheekbones, her little aquiline nose, her lip gloss- in a soft glow. Her arm corded in muscle, connected to her hand in a waving motion delicately, was held up in a _oh, no, I can only take so much!_ manner. Ben studied the way the light fell on the tendons in her other hand – how shadow collected against the muscle connecting her jaw to the front of her clavicle.

He should be able to name the tendons in her hand for his upcoming Anatomy exam, but it escaped him.

She appeared harmless. He imagined her fist colliding with Poe’s stupid grinning face and – well, he couldn’t see it. She seemed, well, too _smiley_. Innocent.

Poor girl, being thrown to the wolves like this.

Ben scrolled back up to the wall of text. Outer Posts? _Not the greatest area to grow up…_

His eyes fell upon a sentence.

_Biological Sciences major and Skywalker Presidential Scholarship recipient_ -

His breath caught within his lungs.

_and **Skywalker** Presidential Scholarship recipient-_

**_Skywalker-_ **

Rage. _Funny how it sneaks up on you_.

Ben kicked a metal trash can down the seventh-floor hallway, not giving a damn who else he woke up on this rainy day. His schedule for today was _absolutely_ ruined.

-*-

“This…this isn’t your best work, Rey.”

Rey’s eyes shifted away from the large window bathed in sheets of grey rain to a pair of concerned electric blue eyes.

She had been in this office a dozen times before. It was the first place that encouraged her to set down her roots in the University’s soil, daring herself to grow. Somewhere between the aged lamp casting dust bunnies in the air and the coffee-stained academic journals, this office was one of the few places that did not bleed pretentiousness and elitism that the rest of the campus seemed to feed off of. Rey felt, dare she say, an equal to the aging man on the other side of the cluttered desk. Usually they met to share positive news over a cup of too-strong coffee. Today, the concern aimed towards her caused her stomach to flip into unease, cup untouched.

“Professor Luke, I—” Rey began.

“Did you study for my exam?” Luke asked patiently, looking down upon the sky-blue exam cover page, before returning to study Rey.

Rey’s eyes rested on her exam.

Under her signed academic honesty statement, Luke’s careful cursive carved out the subject of their meeting this afternoon:

_**46% -- SEE ME.** _

Rey licked her lips as she inhaled slowly, buying time. She fondly remembered taking the day after she was voted president – that morning where she half-jogged across campus with Finn, dressed in his pea coat. It was a poor attempt to hide the fact that she overslept at Delta Sigma Kappa’s house, taking the test in her wrinkled Alpha Zeta Phi business casual. _Her perfume of choice? Marijuana_. Rey was shocked that Luke didn’t upturn his nose in disgust when he handed her a blank test—but then again, it was Luke.

Luke, who sandals with socks while teaching lab while sending anyone who copied him home. Who took a blowtorch and burned his last name off of the nameplate outside his office, due to ‘hierarchy and tradition’ being ‘a construct of academia’. Whatever that meant.

“Rey?”

Rey floated back into Luke’s office. “I studied,” she declared quietly. “I studied with my friend.” _Good_ , she thought, _a neutral statement_.

Without missing a beat, Luke picked up her statement and shined it in the light. “Does your friend bring out your best?”

“I…” Rey attempted, but her voice wavered. Her mind provided a memory, shaking Finn's warm hand the first day of class and swearing that they’d pass class together. Finn was always the first to offer refuge the moment when she needed a place to gather her thoughts. His hugs could make hills out of mountains. Whenever she was challenged, Finn would encourage Rey to see it through to the end, even it meant taking a break now and again.

While Finn was good in that regard, in other ways, he was not. Drawing organic chemistry structures late into the night often broke into many tangents that Finn proudly lead. Usually they returned the usual contest of who could draw the best object out of a functional group. Rey didn’t admit it, but as the weeks progressed, functional groups became a foreign language printed in the textbook that she and Finn shared.

The truth danced along the inside of her teeth.

Luke raised an eyebrow.

“We help each other,” Rey answered, folding the truth away. Lies came easy – but the unease that settled along her stomach didn’t hurt any less.

Luke’s arm moved slowly he reached for a slim black binder over the stacks of paper on his desk. Its spine was covered in masking tape, the word ‘ADVISEES’ aggressively written in red marker. His fingers, worn from years of flipping through paper and testing chemicals, were quick to find the page he wanted. “Rey,” he began again softly, “Remind me about the scholarship you were given to matriculate at Chandrila University.”

Rey sighed loudly. She knew this move. It was an exercise that her and Luke fostered together over the last year whenever she strayed too far from the iron gates that promised to define her more than a child found in a parking lot under the unforgiving Jakku sun. Luke knew her history, her full ride scholarship – it was all outlined to him as her academic advisor and over cups of caffeine. As much as it annoyed Rey, Luke loved to be a mirror – she gingerly looked within. She shut her eyes, recalling the letter that she received in the mail.

“The Skywalker Presidential Scholarship provides full tuition and living stipend to individual students who show ‘excruciating circumstances but exceptional promise’.” Rey blinked her eyes open. An echo of the excitement – or was it panic? – beat through her chest.

“Right,” Luke smiled. His eyes glinted mischievously. A joke only onto himself. “One of the stipulations of that scholarship is to keep your grades what is outlined as exceptional. This forty-six percent on a test isn’t – well, exceptional.” Although his tone was serious, his mouth pulled in a half-grin.

Rey sighed. Her fingers found a hangnail, and as if it was her last hook into a mountain she was slipping down, she began to peel. She swallowed at the thrill the release gave her. “I know.”

Luke swiveled in his chair to his computer, a dusty metal box taking up a corner of precious space on the mahogany desk. “I offer my retake in three weeks,” He ruffled his straggly hair, hand coming to rest against his greying beard. “Do you think you can do well enough, so I do not have to average this first try in?”

Rey shrugged. Luke, forever patient, was offering yet an olive branch, a safety net. She wasn’t deserving. Her heart began to slam in her chest – perhaps this was the start of the end -

Luke’s chair creaked loudly as he leaned back. He drummed his fingers along his bottom lip.

“How do you feel about a tutor?”

-*-

“If you got a forty-six, I am royally, _royally_ fucked,” Finn moaned, shoving a chip covered in too much sour cream into his mouth.

Rey swallowed her mouthful quickly, flushing her mouth out with tea. “Luke is finding a tutor for me.” A chip lodged in between her teeth, which she quickly fished free with her finger.

“It’s nice to see you have an academic advisor who wants you to succeed, rather than laugh while you fail,” Rose muttered, tone brimming with envy. Her focus was carefully crafting the _most_ perfect bite on her chip with the aid of a fork. Clearly, her engineering classes had dug under her skin today.

“I guess,” Rey shrugged, letting Rose’s jealousy roll off her back. Rose’s program defined failure anything lower than an eighty percent. “Finn, didn’t you study?”

Finn rolled his shoulders. “I did, but remember that game that kept crashing? It finally got a software patch-”

Rose grumbled loudly. “Finn, you have the straightest hobbies I’ve ever heard of for a gay man.” She finally took a bite of the dinner before her.

“Don’t hate on what you can’t taste,” Finn chuckled, which earned a flying piece lettuce smacking his cheek.

The rain finally had broken up enough to allow for the late afternoon sun to shine through the windows of Serenno Hall, an older building surrendering to outdoor plant life tucked on the furthest end of the college campus. On the main floor, a small little café was hidden away from main door, mainly attracting a straggling lonesome and hungry student. It was an ideal location to catch up. Rey appreciated for its isolation, Rose liked it for being the same building her last class of the day was in (although Rose always felt like this building was _definitely_ haunted), and Finn – well, he was along for the free meal swipe.

Planning wasn’t a strong suit of Rey’s, but this weekly dinner – along with the rest of her decisions – seemed to luck out.

“Did you see the recent comments on CUSpeak about the election, Rey?” Rose looked at her, eyes glinting with silent laughter.

Rey was busy chewing another mouthful. “Erm – no?” She hadn’t had a chance to look at her phone. It had been a long day of classes, seeing familiar faces, seeing Luke, making notes in her planner, rinse and repeat. She’d become fair game for a sister to interrupt a studying session to speak to her about _something important_ now. More often than not, it wasn’t, but Rey was still finding her footing. Heeding the moment and Rose’s tone, Rey pulled up CUSpeak for the first time today.

She scrolled to her photo and rolled her eyes.

Of course someone thought it would be funny to send a picture of her when she was four shots deep into cheap vodka and was declining a fifth. Rey tried to think of her closest circle – but it isn’t what caught her attention.

Rey scrolled through the anonymous comments, many of them being “AIA” with a red heart emoji – Alpha Zeta’s secret motto. It warmed her heart, seeing that slowly, that Rey – or perhaps Phasma, who was now Vice President, was slowly convincing sisters on the fence – was gaining support.

_Maybe._

Her eyes stopped on a longer comment after a moment of scrolling.

> _**Anonymous [12:16 PM]:** Rey Niima punched me in the face once. It was awesome. Go Rey! _

A thread of a comments sat below this one. Rey clicked to read on.

> _**Anonymous [12:16 PM]:** The General notes your contribution. _
> 
> _**Anonymous [12:18 PM]:** flyboy rejects your note_
> 
> _**Anonymous [12:19 PM]:** The General notes your disregard. Keep it up. _
> 
> _**Anonymous [12:23 PM]:** flyboy is going through a tunnel, oh no, sorry_
> 
> _**Anonymous [12:24 PM]:** lmfao -trooper- _
> 
> _**Anonymous [12:24 PM]:** You are an absolute idiot, you know that?_
> 
> _**Anonymous [12:25 PM]:** what the hell is all this code speak, how fucking lame_
> 
> _**Anonymous [12:26 PM]:** Cease this conversation. –Kylo Ren_

Rey scrolled through the thread once more, annoyed. “Poe is such an idiot.” She picked up her fork once more, scraping across her empty plate. “Does he want me to get called into Snoke’s office?”

“He means no harm,” Finn defended. “Besides, it happened over a year ago—”

“He asked if there was room for one more,” Rey shot a deadly glare at Finn, punctuating her sentence with her fork, “when I was blackout, making out with Kaydel, _dressed in a bedsheet_.” She threw herself against her seat. “Dean Snoke would have a field day.”

Beside Rey, Rose giggled loudly. “You can just tell Dean Snoke that Kaydel is an excellent kisser,” she offered, shrugging her shoulders quickly, “and you got territorial.”

Finn snickered in agreement. “It’s not like a photo of your right hook exists.” He reached out, patting Rey’s shoulder. “Calm down, President Peanut. We got your back.”

Rey flashed her eyes to her two closest friends that knew her best, breathing slowly. Perhaps they were right. As she drank deeply from her tea once more, her mind fluttered towards the last comment in the thread. Clearly, whomever this Kylo Ren was – she inwardly rolled her eyes at yet _another_ weird Delta Sigma Kappa nickname– outranked ‘The General’, Finn and Poe. Maybe this was the elusive Supreme Leader that her presence will be graced with this weekend at President’s Academy. Her mind filtered through possible profiles that matched such a showy sounding nickname but came up empty. _Perhaps a performing art major_ , Rey thought. _No wonder why he had time to comment so quickly on a stupid thread._

Rey’s stomach grumbled silently, not satiated. _Always hollow_.

Rose suddenly broke the silence.

“Oh no,” she whispered. “Finn, three-o’-clock.”

“Huh?” His head whipped towards the entrance over his shoulder, “Oh, for love of all that is holy on Taco Thursday –” Finn threw down his napkin.

Rey adverted her eyes from her clean plate to what her friends were staring at. In the distance, a trio of men, dressed in all black hung around the entrance to the cafe. One broke rank, navigating through the small collection of tables of chairs as if a serpent chasing down its prey. He was tall and lanky, with carefully groomed red hair combed backwards. He’d be actually handsome, if it wasn’t for the pinched scowl on his face.

“Stormson,” the man clipped, throwing his hands behind, nodding towards Finn.

_Ah_ , so this must be –

“Hux,” Finn sighed. Rey didn’t miss how his eyes narrowed as he turned around back to his plate.

Rey took this moment to study Hux. He was dressed in matching turtleneck and black slacks, fitted closely to his frame. There wasn’t a single crease or speck of dirt in the dark leather dress shoes that looked polished. The only sign that gave away his Greek relations was the black fleece that was unzipped halfway down his chest. Delta Sigma Kappa’s insignia – a sixteen-rayed sun surrounded by a dragon clutching a scroll of Greek lettering, caught the light in hues of red and gold. His confident stature oozed one thing that matched the rest of this university: old money.

“Do make sure you’re back at The Base by sundown, or you’ll be locked out,” Hux ordered, his tone blunt edge of a blade.

“Thanks for the reminder, General,” Finn answered, cross. “You know, you could have just sent a text and not roll out here like The Black Parade—”

“You know what today is,” Hux sneered. “We’re mourning.”

“Yes,” Finn hissed back to Hux, a tone that Rey never heard coming from her friend’s mouth. “I’m trying to eat with friends before tonight.”

As if it were an invitation, Hux’s steely eyes danced across the table – right to Rey. His eyes held hers as he surveyed the empty plate before her, the sour cream still left on her cheek. Calculating.

Anger rose in Rey’s belly as the seconds ticked by. Hux’s eyes flashing harked back to a time where jungle gyms and freeze tag always left Rey down, out, and left alone. She absentmindedly adjusted her burgundy jacket, allowing the carefully embroidered silver _Alpha Zeta Phi_ to cover her heart – a shield among the unknown.

_Hux is a bastard_ , her gut supplied heatedly.

“What are you looking at?” Rey muttered; her gaze unmoving.

A breath.

“Absolutely nothing.” Hux squinted, eyebrows furrowing. A small smile broke evenly across his face.

Rose shifted in her seat, her lips parting to deliver a blow-- 

Hux was faster, blinking back towards Finn. “Do heed the message Snap sent out, Trooper.” With that, Hux turned around with military precision, marching across the old wooden planked floor and back towards the café doors, pausing briefly to the other two men who waited outside the café. As quickly as he infiltrated their safe bubble, Hux was gone.

Finn shoved his plate. It was clear that the red-headed man touched the right pattern of buttons to erase his typical happy-go-lucky mood as he stared back at the café’s entrance.

“What the hell was that?” Rose threw towards Finn, mirroring his mood.

“Nothing,” Finn answered, collecting his utensils. “Look, I have to go. Thanks for the swipe, Rey.” He moved towards Rose’s used napkins, collecting them along his plate. Rey didn’t miss the slight tremble of anger in his hand.

“Why are you mourning?” Rey’s tone was careful. “Did a brother die?”

A dark smirk spread across Finn’s face. “Yes, Rey. A long time ago. And for that, we are forever mourning. It’s why Delta Sig’s color went to black like a goddamn Bob Dylan song.” He stood up quickly, dusting off his jeans. “I’ll see you guys later.”

Finn stomped out of the café, leaving Rey and Rose in silence.

After a moment, Rose turned towards Rey. “Hey,” she whispered, leaning in over her empty plate, “Isn’t it weird how Delta Sig has their own mourning ritual so close to—?”

“To our Padmé Amidala ceremony,” Rey finished her sentence. “Yeah, how odd.” Her fingers danced towards her phone, which has oddly been silent this whole time. “I can’t believe I have to run that next weekend.”

“I’m sure you’ll be okay,” Rose offered a supportive smile. “It’s all written out, and you’re killing two birds with one stone. Plus, bagels afterwards!”

Rey’s stomach flipped in response. Padmé Amidala, a distant relative that made up Rey’s fraternal tree, had her life cut too soon in a tragic drunk driving accident. A stipulation of the ceremony had to be that the passages read out loud by her tree – and this year, Rey elected to read all of it. That tragic accident was brought up right when the newest members accepted their bids, every year. Rey thought back when she was just a pledge, thinking it was just a fanatical story to warn against drinking and driving.

But Paige’s tears were real. And Holdo picked at her bagel afterwards. Phasma had swept through and Rey recalled specially being asked if she paid attention.

Oh, if she only knew what she knew now, a year ago…

“What a catch to get a free food.” Rey groaned. “Let’s go before I get a third helping?” her voice broke on the last word.

While they cleaned up their fake family dinner, Rey kept thinking back to Hux’s eyes taking pleasure in calling her _nothing, absolutely nothing_.

She wished she missed it.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [twitter](https://twitter.com/silhouettts)!


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